The present invention relates to conversion of vector graphics files to files suitable for display on a computer, such as a computer running an Internet browser.
In the furniture industry, furniture manufacturers have for years generated very carefully planned and designed catalogs to aid in the promotion and sale of their products. Catalog design has become quite sophisticated, with particularized placement of text and graphics on the pages being chosen by the catalog designers to achieve specialized visual effects. Among the effects desired are the overlay of one photograph over a part of another.
With the advent of the Internet and e-commerce endeavors, it is desired to replicate such catalogs on the Internet so that viewers and potential customers on the Internet will have identically the same image available to them as would be available in the printed catalog.
Similarly, it may be desirable for many other types of print media to be transported to a browser-display with fidelity to the original.
The state-of-the-art in printing, particularly with respect to catalogs, but for other printed products also, involves the use of digital electronics. The image to be printed is stored in an electronic file in a vector graphics format. In vector graphics, mathematical equations and file pointers are used to collate the text and images to be printed on the printed page. These files can then be used to make the separations used in the printing process according to known techniques.
The size of the digital files for such printed pages, even using vector graphics, can be on the order of 25 million bytes, too large for transmission at reasonable speeds over commonly available digital networks. Also, among the 25 million bytes of information is much more detail than can typically be displayed on a monitor used in an Internet or other browser system. Typically, browsers display information in much less resolution, such as in the jpeg or gif format, having more on the order of 25,000 bytes of information, which can be reasonably quickly transmitted over digital networks.
Similarly, the browsers display images according to instructions imbedded in a markup language, typically html. In html, code is written to determine the color, size, and placement of various items on a page, and such code is typically written or edited in a manual mode, although some page editor programs are now available. Nonetheless, creation of an html page or other markup language page to replicate with high fidelity the images of a printed catalog or other printed publication is very difficult and time consuming. Essentially, the html page must be prepared from scratch, requiring trial and error to determine how well the browser-displayed page replicates the printed page. Errors must be corrected by rewriting code.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system that will expedite the conversion of printed page digital files to those which can be displayed in html or other markup language format on browsers.
Also, there is a need in the art for an economical way to replicate printed catalog pages and other printed pages in a browser display with high fidelity.